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A new addition to the growing Art Museum area restaurant scene, Urban Saloon has an open and airy dining room with exposed brick that is warm and inviting. (Photos by Greg Bezanis)
Frank Sinatra liked to say he was a "saloon singer." The word "saloon" also makes me think of shootouts in black-and-white westerns. The good guy strolls into a bar where the bad guy is already waiting. They have words, leave through swinging doors and draw their guns.
A little more than a month ago, Urban Saloon opened on Fairmount Avenue, a few steps from Jack’s Firehouse. The site has been a revolving door for a number of years.
Urban Saloon is a large space with high-ceilings and a long wood bar. A blackboard lists the brews on tap as well as what’s available in bottles. The original brick walls are intact, giving the room a warm feel. Tables are covered with brown paper and flimsy paper napkins.
Several flat screen televisions dot the space and there’s a new-age jukebox that intrigued Edward. You could listen to Billy Joel or Janis Joplin.
Bombay Sapphire martinis ($7) were mid-sized and priced right. Our server brought us Schuylkill Punch in Mason jars. We sipped our drinks and looked over the menu.
The bill of fare is simple and straight forward. There are salads, appetizers, burgers, burritos, sandwiches and desserts.
From the salads we selected the health nut ($7) and the wedge ($5.50). I’m not sure where the name "health nut" came from as it consisted of limp outer romaine leaves, bits of asparagus, slices of Granny Smith apple, grape tomatoes and spiced pecans topped in much too much vinaigrette.
A wedge is a steakhouse staple and one of my favorite salads. Out of a possible 10, this one rated a five. It was not much to look at and the lettuce was cool, but not as green as the iceberg should have been. There were bits of blue cheese scattered over the plate along with sliced grape tomatoes and large chunks of crispy bacon.
All salads come with a choice of potato salad or quinoa. Our server told us they were out of potato salad. The quinoa was delightfully refreshing. It is a grain similar to a light kasha. It was mixed with some diced vegetables and lightly dressed with olive oil and vinegar.
Next up came mini toasted three-cheese sandwiches with a small bowl of homemade tomato soup ($7.50). The sandwiches were grilled on thick-sliced quality white bread. They were OK, but we prefer ours dripping with melted, gooey cheese; These were on the dry side. The soup was ghastly. It was cold and it took our server two attempts to get it hot. It was thick, syrupy and overly sweet. A cup of Campbell’s would have been better.
There are six burgers on offer at Urban Saloon. I ordered the bacon with cheddar ($9), which arrived rare as ordered. It was on the small side and served on thick slices of toasted good-quality white bread, but the bread did not hold up to the juiciness of the meat. I prefer a good old-fashioned bun. The applewood smoked bacon was delicious — nice and crisp. I received a tiny slice of red onion, sliced grape tomato and a piece of romaine. The fries, however, were tasty, crisp and hot.
The kielbasa sandwich ($7) satisfied our hankering for good sausage and sauerkraut. The kraut was well-drained and a dab of Dijon mustard gave the sandwich the right touch of tang. All sandwiches and burgers come with a choice of salad or fries.
Since Urban Saloon offers a number of beers, Edward selected a pint of Magic Hat ($4.50). The beer had a deep yellow glow and went down well with our dinner.
Urban Saloon serves desserts, which was a surprise. They have cheesecake from the Aramingo Diner ($4) that I tasted many years ago. Unfortunately, our server told us they were out of cheesecake, so we opted for homemade chocolate cake ($3) and boy was it good. We received a hefty slice of rich buttery semi-sweet chocolate cake covered in a not-at-all sweet chocolate fudge icing.
By the time we left, the dining room was a ghost town, but the long bar was filled with happy people from the neighborhood.
One-and-a-half tips of the toque to Urban Saloon.
Urban Saloon
2120 Fairmount Ave.
215-808-0348
